CNB FINANCIAL CORP quarterly report, Q2 FY2022

CNB Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: CCNE) — Q2 2022 Form 10-Q

Reporting period: Quarter and six months ended June 30, 2022. Unless noted, financial amounts are in millions of dollars. CNB is a regional financial holding company whose businesses include banking, wealth management and consumer lending.

Financial performance

MetricQ2 2022Q2 2021Six months 2022Six months 2021
Net interest income$46.3$38.3$88.9$77.4
Provision for credit losses$2.9$2.0$4.5$4.1
Non-interest income$8.1$7.9$17.8$16.1
Non-interest expense$32.6$27.0$64.5$54.8
Net income$15.4$14.0$30.7$28.2
Net income available to common shareholders$14.4$12.9$28.5$26.0
Diluted EPS$0.85$0.76$1.69$1.54

Q2 net interest margin was 3.73% on a fully tax-equivalent basis, versus 3.28% a year earlier; the six-month margin was 3.61%, versus 3.42%. Q2 annualized return on average equity was 14.55% (13.22% prior year), while the efficiency ratio was 59.47% (57.91%). The six-month efficiency ratio was 59.99%, up from 58.04%.

For the six months, operating cash flow was $21.8 million, investing cash flow was negative $446.3 million, and financing cash flow was negative $23.5 million. Cash and cash equivalents declined $448.0 million to $284.2 million, primarily as CNB deployed excess cash into loan growth and investments.

Balance sheet, liquidity and capital

  • Total assets were $5.30 billion at June 30, 2022, compared with $5.33 billion at year-end 2021. Total loans were $3.91 billion, up $275.0 million; excluding PPP-related loans and syndicated loans, management reported growth of $290.5 million, or 8.4%.
  • Deposits totaled $4.70 billion, down $13.8 million, or 0.3%, from year-end. Noninterest-bearing deposits rose 7.5% to $851.2 million, while certificates of deposit declined 21.3% to $304.3 million. Non-maturity deposits were 93.5% of deposits.
  • CNB reported $217.8 million in Federal Reserve deposits and approximately $1.0 billion of potential FHLB borrowing capacity; it had no FHLB advances outstanding. Management considered liquidity adequate.
  • Subordinated debentures were $20.6 million and subordinated notes were $83.8 million. No line-of-credit or other overnight borrowings were outstanding.
  • Shareholders’ equity was $423.6 million, down 4.3% from year-end, primarily reflecting accumulated other comprehensive losses on securities. The total risk-based capital ratio was 14.23%, CET1 was 9.30%, and the tier 1 leverage ratio was 8.53%; CNB said all capital ratios exceeded regulatory well-capitalized levels.

Material changes and notable items

  • Net income available to common shareholders rose 11.2% in Q2 and 9.7% for the first half. Management attributed stronger earnings primarily to loan growth, securities growth, stable credit quality and the benefit of higher rates on an asset-sensitive balance sheet.
  • Q2 non-interest expense increased 20.9%, including approximately $1.3 million in accelerated retirement benefit expense related to a pending executive retirement, higher incentive compensation, additional staffing in growth markets and technology investment.
  • Q2 non-interest income included an $830,000 bank-owned life insurance death-benefit gain. First-half non-interest income included $651,000 of realized gains on available-for-sale securities. Equity securities generated net unrealized losses of $641,000 in Q2 and $1.0 million in the first half.
  • CNB reclassified securities from available-for-sale to held-to-maturity and added HTM purchases. At June 30, HTM securities had $413.3 million amortized cost and $389.9 million fair value. The AFS portfolio had $46.8 million of unrealized losses; management attributed losses to market interest-rate movements and stated it did not intend, and was not more likely than not required, to sell before recovery.
  • Accumulated other comprehensive loss was $41.4 million at quarter-end, compared with $0.4 million at year-end. Tangible book value per common share declined to $19.08 from $20.22.
  • The allowance for credit losses was $40.5 million, or 1.04% of loans, versus $37.6 million, or 1.03%, at year-end. Nonperforming assets were $20.7 million, or 0.39% of assets; nonaccrual loans were 0.48% of total loans. Management cited loan growth and uncertainty around inflation, supply-chain challenges, the economy and the pandemic as factors in its credit-loss estimates.

Outlook, risks and contingencies

CNB did not provide numerical earnings guidance. Management expected to continue pursuing loan-growth objectives in 2022, supported by core-customer acquisition and diversified markets. It expected growth strategies to expand earning assets and revenue sufficiently to more than offset higher expenses, while expecting the syndicated-loan portfolio to remain stable or decrease. Management also noted that the interest-rate environment will remain important to earnings.

Key risks identified include economic and competitive conditions, interest-rate changes, funding costs and deposit attrition, loan and securities quality, allowance adequacy, COVID-19 effects, regulation, technology and acquisition integration. CNB’s modeled one-year net interest income sensitivity at June 30 was +16.5% for a 400-basis-point rate increase and -11.8% for a 200-basis-point decrease; management cautioned actual outcomes may differ. It reported no material change in risk factors from its 2021 Form 10-K. Ordinary-course litigation was not expected by management to have a material adverse effect. Off-balance-sheet commitments included $456.5 million of commitments to make loans, $697.5 million of unused lines and $17.4 million of standby letters of credit.

Important facts for investors to verify

  • Whether loan growth continues and whether credit quality, delinquencies and the allowance remain resilient as economic conditions change.
  • How deposit balances and funding costs respond to higher rates, and whether reported liquidity and available borrowing capacity remain sufficient.
  • Whether net interest margin benefits persist as asset yields and deposit costs reprice.
  • How securities marks, accumulated other comprehensive losses and the AFS-to-HTM strategy affect capital and future flexibility.
  • Whether expense growth, including the retirement charge and expansion/technology costs, moderates relative to revenue growth.
  • Whether CNB uses its authorization to repurchase up to 500,000 shares, subject to a $15 million aggregate limit, through May 17, 2023; no program purchases were reported in Q2.